The Duke's Pampered Darling is So Scheming

Chapter 23: Chapter 23: Still a Backup Plan

Ye Chutang watched her quietly, thinking, ’So this is her real goal.’

Previously, she’d claimed the prescription was lost, probably thinking that with no way to verify it, she could just sling this mud at the Ye’s Clinic.

But she didn’t expect Ye Chutang to have a second copy of the prescription, which caught her off guard.

However, that didn’t matter. If one trick failed, she had another.

The medicine she had that day clearly wasn’t from the Ye’s Clinic, yet she dared to claim it was now, which showed this was all pre-arranged.

Seeing Ye Chutang remain silent, the woman thought she had scared her and pressed smugly, ”What, you don’t dare?”

Yang Zhen also looked at Ye Chutang.

Things had reached a point where searching the clinic was unavoidable. If Ye Chutang refused, it would only prove she had something to hide.

The next moment, he heard Ye Chutang say in a calm voice, ”The Ye’s Clinic has a clean conscience and nothing to fear.”

Her shoulders were straight and her eyes were clear, radiating utter confidence.

Anyone who saw her would think she was truly open and guilt-free.

However, seeing her reaction, a triumphant glint flashed in the woman’s eyes.

’Of course Ye Chutang dares to talk big now, but once they search the clinic, we’ll see if she’s still so tough!’

Yang Zhen immediately ordered, ”Search!”

Ye Chutang’s gaze swept impassively over the woman’s face as she raised her voice and asked, ”Wait. If nothing is found in the Ye’s Clinic, that would prove you’re making a false accusation, wouldn’t it? What will you have to say for yourself then?”

”How could they possibly not find anything in your clinic—” The woman paused, then sneered, ”If they don’t, I’ll be at your mercy!”

A slight smile touched Ye Chutang’s lips.

”In that case, it’s a deal. Everyone here is a witness, so don’t you dare go back on your word.”

Being stared at by those dark, clear eyes, the woman’s heart inexplicably began to pound with panic.

She deliberately looked away and said stiffly, ”We’ll see if you’re still so bold after they’ve searched the clinic!”

...

Ye’s Clinic.

Ye Jingyan, Ye Yunfeng, and Xiao Wu waited together inside.

Ye Jingyan took out the book his sister had left him. Ye Yunfeng, anxious, paced back and forth. Xiao Wu cradled an abacus and stared at the closed main door with a melancholy look.

’Sigh, the clinic’s closed. No Silver to be made today.’

As if guessing what she was thinking, Ye Jingyan turned a page in his book and passed her a purse.

”This just came in.”

Xiao Wu’s eyes lit up. She took the purse and squeezed it several times with her two small, soft, and chubby hands.

Feeling its heavy weight, the smile on her face grew even brighter.

Her eyes sparkled as she glanced at the room next door.

’It would be great if they stayed here forever! Then my sister could collect money from them for a lifetime!’

Ye Jingyan followed her gaze and suddenly remembered something. ”Oh, right. My sister said we’re covering their room and board for the time being. A Feng, when you cook later, make enough for two more people.”

Ye Yunfeng scratched his head. ”Third Brother! What time is it to be thinking about food? Our sister is still at the government office, and we don’t even know what’s happening!”

It wasn’t that Ye Jingyan was completely without worry, but he trusted his sister.

”Don’t worry. Our sister told us to just wait at home, so that’s what we’ll do.”

Ye Yunfeng plopped down onto a chair.

Just then, however, a commotion came from outside.

Ye Yunfeng leaped to his feet and exchanged a look with Ye Jingyan. ”Is our sister back?!”

”You watch Xiao Wu. I’ll go see.”

As he spoke, Ye Jingyan put the book away and headed outside.

...

Ye Jingyan hadn’t expected his sister to return so quickly, much less accompanied by so many people.

Especially—the Lord County Magistrate was here too!

Yang Zhen didn’t actually have to come, but with several murder cases recently in Jiangling, he had to make an appearance and show that he wasn’t idle.

Furthermore, Liu Yiyi had specifically asked him this morning to pay close attention to Ye Chutang’s case. He had readily agreed, so naturally, he had to come along to investigate.

The Ye’s Clinic wasn’t large. There was one room in the front for consultations, and behind it was a square courtyard with a few bedrooms and a pharmacy.

Yang Zhen raised a hand, and the government officers quickly split up to search.

Seeing this, Ye Jingyan frowned, hurried to Ye Chutang’s side, and asked in a low voice, ”Sister, what’s going on?”

Ye Chutang shook her head slightly. ”It’s too complicated to explain in a few words. Just let them search for now.”

Ye Jingyan could only swallow the rest of his questions.

Meanwhile, Ye Yunfeng, who had been waiting inside, saw the people coming and going in the courtyard and couldn’t sit still any longer. He came out, leading Xiao Wu by the hand.

Upon seeing Ye Chutang, Xiao Wu let go of Ye Yunfeng’s hand, ran toward Ye Chutang on her short little legs, and threw herself into her arms.

Ye Chutang ruffled her hair and took her small hand. ”Don’t be afraid, Xiao Wu. They’re just here to look for something.”

Xiao Wu was a little bewildered.

She didn’t know any of these people. Why were they searching her home?

Ye Yunfeng glanced around and saw how roughly the government officers were searching. In just a short time, they had turned the once-clean and tidy courtyard into a complete mess, and anger flared in his heart.

’I just finished cleaning this!’

’Do they have any idea how much effort it will take to put all this back in order?!’

He started to speak several times but forced himself to hold back.

’Forget it! This is no time to worry about that!’

’Still...’

”Sister, what exactly are they looking for?” Ye Yunfeng couldn’t hold back any longer and asked with a frown.

Ye Chutang said, ”They’re looking for what they expect to find, of course.”

Ye Yunfeng: ”...”

’Isn’t that the same as saying nothing at all? What on earth—’

”Found it!”

A government officer suddenly cried out in excitement. All eyes turned to him, just in time to see him pull a handful of Chuanwu from a drawer in the medicine cabinet.

Chuanwu is an irregularly shaped cone, bulging on one side. At first glance, it looks a bit like yellow ginger.

He held the pieces of Chuanwu under his nose and sniffed. ”This stuff seems to have been soaked in wine!”

Chuanwu can be used in medicine, but it has a certain toxicity, which becomes even stronger after being soaked in wine.

The woman nearly jumped out of her skin. ”That’s it! That’s the stuff that was in the medicine she prescribed for me that day!”

She immediately turned to Ye Chutang, her voice harsh. ”Ye Chutang! This was found in your clinic in front of everyone! What do you have to say for yourself now!”

The courtyard fell deathly silent.

This was truly ironclad evidence. How could she possibly refute it?

At that moment, however, Ye Chutang suddenly asked, ”Aren’t you going to keep searching?”

Everyone was taken aback. Even the government officer who had found the Chuanwu didn’t react immediately.

Ye Chutang lifted her chin. ”Our courtyard may not be large, but a lot of people live here, and there are plenty of miscellaneous items. Why don’t you all search a bit more and see what else you can find?”

The woman sneered, ”This is more than enough! Are you still trying to deny it?”

”Oh?” Ye Chutang blinked. ”Are you saying that these few soiled pieces of Chuanwu are enough to convict me?”

The woman’s voice rose. ”Of course! You—wait, what do you mean by that?!”

Ye Chutang tilted her head to look at the government officer who had found the Chuanwu. ”Smell it again, carefully. What other scent is on it?”

The man was startled. He subconsciously brought it closer to smell it again, and his expression changed slightly.

Finding this strange, Yang Zhen frowned and demanded, ”What is it?”

Ye Chutang smiled faintly. ”It’s nothing. It’s just that it should also be stained with the smell of tung oil.”

She tilted her head slightly and explained in a light, cheerful tone, ”Oh, I forgot to mention. Since we haven’t been able to buy medicinal herbs for several days, the medicine cabinet was nearly empty. So, I had Yan and A Feng clean it out and give it a fresh coat of tung oil to refurbish it. The only downside is that tung oil dries slowly—it takes a full three hours. Anything placed inside during that time would get tung oil on it.”

With a hint of curiosity, she smiled and asked, ”I wonder, are there any traces of it on these pieces of Chuanwu?”